Important submission materials: Download author form here. Download copyright form here.
SUBMIT HERE: Submissions for consideration may be sent via JCAD’s Editorial Manager System. E-mailed submissions are no longer accepted.
The mission of The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology (JCAD) is to provide dermatologists with up-to-date, evidence-based information on the latest treatment options, new techniques, and practice management issues; thus, helping them improve their daily practice. JCAD is a peer-reviewed medical journal that publishes original research and practical information on a broad range of pertinent topics relating to both clinical and aesthetic dermatology.
Submission requirements for JCAD (ISSN 1941-2789) are in accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). See Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journal.
Manuscripts that meet our editorial purpose include but are not limited to: (1) reports of preclinical and clinical research studies that expand existing knowledge; (2) in-depth reviews; (3) reviews on clinical practice, management, reimbursement, education, ethics, and legal issues; (4) reviews and reports of contemporary topics in dermatology and dermatology practice that may affect the delivery, reimbursement, or practice of dermatologic care; (5) case studies and reports that stimulate research and the exchange of information.
Original Research. Reports of investigations that address questions about clinical care or expand existing knowledge. References and illustrative material are recommended. Must include abstract. Recommended length: up to 6,000 words, not including references.
Review Articles. Comprehensive articles summarizing basic strategies to facilitate the dermatologist’s approach to diagnosis and treatment and articles highlighting emerging diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. May also include in-depth reviews of clinical practice, management, reimbursement, educational, ethical, and legal issues. At least 25 current references are recommended. Illustrative material is preferred. Must include abstract. Recommended length: up to 6,000 words, not including references.
Case Reports. Please note that due to the high volume of submissions that we are currently processing, we are only considering case reports on an invitational basis at this time. Short presentations of actual cases that stimulate research and the exchange of information and illustrate the signs and symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment of a disorder. At least 15 current references are recommended. Illustrative material is preferred. Must include abstract. Recommended length: 1,000 to 3,000 words (not including references).
Brief Reports. Short reports of original studies or evaluations or unique, first-time reports of clinical case series. Must include abstract. Recommended length: 1,000 to 1500 words (not including references).
Special Communications. Communications that describe an important issue in clinical or aesthetic dermatology in a scholarly, thorough, well-referenced, systematic, or evidence-based manner. Must include abstract. Recommended length: up to 3,000 words (not including references).
Commentaries. Essays that address important topics in clinical or aesthetic dermatology and generally are not linked to a specific article. Commentaries should be well focused, scholarly, and clearly presented. Include approximately 20 references. Recommended length: 1,500 to 2,000 words.
Letters to the Editor. Opinions on cases or articles published in The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology, opinions on other current topics, or short reports of clinical interest. Must be concise and to the point. Please indicate whether the letter is intended for publication. Text should not exceed 600 words, with no more than five references. Letters should be received within 2 months of the article’s publication and may be sent to the original author for reply. The editor reserves the right to edit the material for style, clarity, and size.
First author submission policy. **Updated August 2024: JCAD previously required first authors of all submissions must have one of the following doctoral degrees: MD, DO, PhD, PharmD, or international equivalent of a doctoral degree. We now allow first authors to hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree; however, every manuscript submitted to JCAD must include a co-author with a doctoral degree. Clinical research studies must include at least one board-certified dermatologist as a co-author.
Submissions by NPs and PAs. Nurse practitioners and physician assistants may publish as a first author without a doctoral co-author—Please see “NP+PA Perspectives in Dermatology” author guidelines (CLICK HERE).
Conflict of Interest Disclosures. All authors should disclose any potential financial conflicts of interest relevant to the submitted manuscript.
Author and Copyright Forms. Download author form here. Download copyright form here. Upon submission, authors will be asked to complete and return an Author Form, which requires corresponding author information, authorship statement, and financial disclosure. Authors will also be asked to sign and return a copyright form. If the manuscript is accepted and published in JCAD, authors must transfer copyright to Matrix Medical Communications.
Registration of Clinical Trials. As recommended by the ICMJE, The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology requires, as a condition of consideration for publication, registration of all clinical trials in a public trials registry that requires the minimum registration data set as determined by the ICMJE [click here for more information from ICMJE]. Please include the trial registry name, registration number, and the url for the registry in the abstract.
Protection of Research Participants. When reporting research involving human data, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed have been assessed by the responsible review committee (institutional and national), or if no formal ethics committee is available, were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. Approval by a responsible review committee does not preclude editors from forming their own judgment whether the conduct of the research was appropriate. See www.icmje.org for more information.
Patient Consent. Identifying information, including names, initials, or hospital numbers, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, or pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that an identifiable patient be shown the manuscript to be published. Authors should disclose to these patients whether any potential identifiable material might be available via the Internet as well as in print after publication. Patient consent should be written and archived with the authors. The authors must provide the journal with a written statement that attests that they have received and archived written patient consent. Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. Informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt that anonymity can be maintained. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity, and thus will require patient consent. If identifying characteristics are de-identified, authors should provide assurance, and editors should so note, that such changes do not distort scientific meaning. See www.icmje.org for more information.
Animal Experiments. Manuscripts will be considered for publication only if the work follows international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for humane animal treatment and complies with relevant legislation; has been approved by the ethics review committee at the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted where such a committee exists; and for studies using client-owned animals, demonstrates a high standard (best practice) of veterinary care and involves informed client consent. Prior to acceptance of a manuscript, to verify compliance with the above policies, the authors must include a signed statement that legal and ethical requirements were met with regard to the humane treatment of animals described in the study. Author must also describe in Materials and Methods section(s) of the manuscript the ethical review committee approval process and the international, national, and/or institutional guidelines that were followed. See www.icmje.org for more information.
Inclusion of previously published materials. Any material submitted to The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology that is reproduced from previously published copyrighted material must be accompanied by a letter of permission from the copyright holder. All such material should include a full credit line (e.g., in the figure or table legend) acknowledging the original source. The author is responsible for obtaining the permission and is responsible for any associated fees.
Title Page. The title page should contain the following elements: title, author names and institutional affiliations, sources of financial support, name of corresponding author with his or her complete contact information (mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address), and word count.
Spacing and Pagination. Please use double spacing throughout. Do not use a running head. Pages should be numbered beginning with the title page. Please line number all submissions for the benefit of our reviewers. To add line numbers to your Word file, select View/Print Layout/Format/Document/select Layout Tab/select Line Numbers/check Add Line Numbering and Continuous, and save the changes.
Abstract. Include an abstract with all articles, except letters to the editors. Abstracts should be limited to 250 words.
Keywords. Include 5 to 7 relevant keywords following the abstract.
Abbreviations/Acronyms. All abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out at first mention.
References. Submissions with incorrectly formatted references will be returned to the corresponding author and will not be considered until corrected. Citation accuracy is the responsibility of the author. Requirements are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (see www.icmje.org for more information). References must be cited in the text in numerical order and must appear as a complete enumerated list at the end of the manuscript. (See Uniform Requirements.) Do not superscript reference numbers in the text; place the numbers between brackets at the end of the corresponding sentences or paragraphs. Abbreviate names of journals according to Index Medicus style. Book references should include the author(s), editor(s), title, edition number, publisher and city, copyright date, volume, and specific page numbers for quoted material.
The sequence for a journal article should be: authors (up to four; for five or more authors, list the first three, followed by et al), title of paper, journal name abbreviated as in the Index Medicus, year of publication, volume number, issue number and first and last page numbers. Example: Del Rosso JQ, Webster GF, Jackson M, et al. Two randomized phase III clinical trials evaluating anti-inflammatory-dose doxycycline (40-mg doxycycline, USP capsules) administered once daily for treatment of rosacea. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2007;56:791–802.
The sequence for chapters of a book should be: author(s), chapter title, editors, book title, edition, place of publication, publisher, year, page numbers. Example: Hanake E, Baran R, Bureau H. Tumors of the nail apparatus and adjacent tissues. In: Baran R, Dawber RPR, de Berker DAR, et al, eds. Baran and Dawber’s Diseases of the Nails and Their Management. 3rd ed. Malden, Mass: Blackwell Science; 2001:515–630.
The sequence for conference proceedings/poster presented at a conference is: Poster authors. Poster title. Presented at: Conference Name; Conference date, including Month, dates, and year; conference city, state, and country. Example: Heller T. Promoting healthy aging and community inclusion of adults with developmental disabilities. Presented at: The National Association for the Dually Diagnosed; October 24, 2003; Chicago.
Authors are responsible for ensuring that the list contains all references cited in the text, in order, and accurately.
Tables and Figures. All Tables and Figures must be numbered consecutively according to citation in text. The journal does not limit the number of tables or figures that can be submitted with a manuscript; however, particularly large tables or numerous figures may be published on a digital-only basis, with a web link provided in the print version of the article to access the illustrative material online. Digital-only illustrative material will be indexed along with the rest of the article.
Previously published tables and figures. If a figure or table has been previously published, the complete reference information must be cited, and written permission from the publisher to reproduce must be submitted with the material. Obtaining permission (and any associated fees) to include previously published materials in a JCAD submission is the responsibility of the author.
Figure specifications. Photographic illustrations may be submitted as color or black-and-white electronic JPG or TIF files (min. 300 dpi). Other types of illustrations (e.g., drawings, graphs, charts) must be professionally executed and also submitted electronically. Symbols and abbreviations should be defined/spelled out. For black-and-white or color photographs, the required resolution is at least 300 dpi. For line drawings, the resolution must be at least 600 dpi. Low-resolution figure image files will be returned to the author with a request for a high-resolution version of the figure.
Table specifications. Tables should be submitted in Word document format; tables submitted as PDFs or image files will have to be resubmitted.
Peer Review. All submissions undergo peer review to ensure that the material is clinically relevant and concise. A minimum of two reviewers will assess each submission. Based on the reviewers/editors’ comments, manuscripts may be accepted, rejected, or recommended for revision. Reviewer comments that are considered constructive will be shared with the corresponding author.
Editing and Page Proofs. Articles accepted for publication will be edited for consistency of style, clarity, and correct grammatical construction. Page proofs will be sent to the author prior to publication for approval and may contain author queries that will need to be addressed. The author will be given no more than 48 hours to respond with changes/corrections. The author is responsible for all changes in the manuscript, including those of the copy editor.
Post-publication. The corresponding author of each article receives a PDF of his or her article. The PDF is copyright protected and is for the corresponding author’s files only. Corresponding author may email PDF to co-authors and colleagues who request it for research purposes. The PDF may not be mass distributed in any way (including e-mail or print) or posted on any website (including internal sites) without express written permission from the publisher (fees may apply). Electronic and printed reprints are available at a discounted price to the corresponding author. Contact us for pricing at info@matrixmedcom.com.
All JCAD articles are available for print or digital reprint orders; please contact info@matrixmedcom.com to discuss reprint requests, options, and pricing.
Currently, there is no fee charged to submit to or publish in the journal.
JCAD is an open-access publication, which means all of its content is accessible in full and for free to everyone via its website, e-Editions, and indexing services. There is no fee for this. We provide this service to all of our authors.
Please note, however, that Matrix Medical Communications (MMC), publisher of JCAD, maintains the copyright to all content published in the journal and on its associated media, and this includes the content we submit to the indexing services (e.g., PubMed). JCAD articles and associated figures, tables, etc. may not be reproduced, adapted, mass distributed, or digitally posted in any manner or medium or by any individual or entity, including the authors, without express written permission from MMC (fees may apply for this).
CONTENTS
ESTIMATED SUBMISSION & PUBLICATION TIMELINES